Attack of the Little Green Men

Friday

May 2, 2014 at 12:15 PMMay 2, 2014 at 2:14 PM

Its curious to hear Barry and John accusing the separatists in Ukraine of being Russian special forces agents, and the wail about the atrocity of the fact that these little green men hide their faces and wear no insignia, in contravention of all kinds of laws which are never enumerated.

When I look at the pictures of these same little green men, I don’t see Russian soldiers–I see the storm troopers who ran amok in Watertown last year breaking down doors and tossing people out of their homes and engaging in warrantless searches in the name of counter terrorism. Like the little green men in Ukraine, these thugs in Watertown wore no insignia and covered their faces. When we tried to identify these folks, we were told that the national security exception to FOIA precluded release of the name of the entity who paid these folks, never mind their names. A few months ago, Rick noted that a shadowy group called Homeland Security Investigation was used to execute a federal warrant on a consumer protection case, and how weird that seemed. In retrospect, it is possible that these same people were also in Watertown. However, knowing that the agency exists doesn’t tell us who these people are, or what their portfolio is, or who provides oversight or supervision. or what recourse a citizen has for violation of Fourth Amendment rights.

I only mention this because I don’t care who is who in Ukraine. I do care who is who in Watertown. And if Barry and John really have a problem with anonymous and masked storm troopers, it would be nice if their concern included the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Rob Meltzer

Its curious to hear Barry and John accusing the separatists in Ukraine of being Russian special forces agents, and the wail about the atrocity of the fact that these little green men hide their faces and wear no insignia, in contravention of all kinds of laws which are never enumerated.

When I look at the pictures of these same little green men, I don’t see Russian soldiers–I see the storm troopers who ran amok in Watertown last year breaking down doors and tossing people out of their homes and engaging in warrantless searches in the name of counter terrorism. Like the little green men in Ukraine, these thugs in Watertown wore no insignia and covered their faces. When we tried to identify these folks, we were told that the national security exception to FOIA precluded release of the name of the entity who paid these folks, never mind their names. A few months ago, Rick noted that a shadowy group called Homeland Security Investigation was used to execute a federal warrant on a consumer protection case, and how weird that seemed. In retrospect, it is possible that these same people were also in Watertown. However, knowing that the agency exists doesn’t tell us who these people are, or what their portfolio is, or who provides oversight or supervision. or what recourse a citizen has for violation of Fourth Amendment rights.

I only mention this because I don’t care who is who in Ukraine. I do care who is who in Watertown. And if Barry and John really have a problem with anonymous and masked storm troopers, it would be nice if their concern included the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.